


Carry On, Nothing to See Here

by ZoeWiloh



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Blood Loss, Gen, Getting hurt and then being an idiot about it, Hiding Injuries, Hurt Ignis, Hurt Noctis, Hurt Prompto, Hurt/Comfort, One story for each chocobro, Prompt Fill, Serious Injuries, Stabbing, Whump, h/c, hurt gladio
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-06
Updated: 2019-04-11
Packaged: 2020-01-05 21:57:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 14,350
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18374864
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZoeWiloh/pseuds/ZoeWiloh
Summary: Prompt fill of a character saying they were "lightly stabbed, nothing to worry about." Will do one for each Chocobro.





	1. Noctis

**Author's Note:**

> I was looking for H/C prompts and found this: "Character A: I wasn’t injured, I was lightly stabbed, Character B: I’m sorry, you were stabbed!?!? Character A: Again, lightly stabbed, I didn’t want you to worry. *Passes out from blood loss*” 
> 
> It spoke to me so much that I realized I could think of a version for each of the Chocobros, so that's what I'm doing. They'll each get their own chapter.

_ Noctis  _

\---------------

 

Noctis couldn’t remember the last time he was breathing this hard, not even in training with Gladio. He was running as fast as he could to his apartment, clutching his bleeding side, trying to ignore the pain that shocked through him with every step. 

It was so unfair. He had only last week convinced everyone he would be safe if they let him go for walks on his own. It would help with independence, he’d said. After all his training with Gladio, it wasn’t as if he couldn’t defend himself, he’d argued. If the outings were unscheduled and inconsistent, no one would be able to predict when he’d be out, he’d pointed out. There were still crownsguard nearby all the time anyway so it wouldn’t be that bad for them to follow at more of a distance, he’d insisted. 

All of the points made sense in his head. He really believed it would all be okay. That felt silly now. They had all been so hesitant, but he was so set on the idea he couldn’t let it go.  _ Walks.  _ Just simple walks near his apartment. Just some time to clear his head, not being watched over constantly. It seemed so safe to him and he’d managed to convince everyone else to give it a shot. It wasn’t like he was some exploration nut and he’d wander the whole city without being careful, he just wanted a few minutes of fresh air to himself without anyone breathing down his neck. 

So now he was running. Not for his life; he’d been right about being able to defend himself. His attacker was lying unconscious in the alley he’d pulled Noct into. The scuffle had been brief since the guy seemed untrained and was stupid enough to attack him without backup. He wouldn’t have been able to make even a scratch on Noct if he hadn’t had the element of surprise on his side. But if everyone found out about this incident it would be  _ ages _ before anyone trusted him alone again. The constant overwatch was smothering; he needed a chance to breathe on his own before he imploded from the lack of privacy or basic trust. So his only chance was to slip back into his apartment without any guard noticing he was hurt. All he had to do was patch up the stab wound in his side before everyone came to his place for dinner in an hour. Simple. 

He had been attacked no more than three blocks from his apartment, but it felt like an eternity later that he managed to fall through his front door - literally. As soon as he got the door open, he fell to his knees in the entry to his apartment, crawled forward a few feet and slammed the door closed with his foot. 

Panting heavily, he took a few minutes to breathe deeply through the pain. He looked down at his torso and was disturbed by the amount of blood. His hand felt slick with it, drenched in it, but he had hoped that was all in his imagination. No such luck. 

With a gasp, he pulled himself to his feet, made a mental note to clean up the few drops of blood on the floor after he bandaged himself up, and stumbled toward the bathroom. 

He peeled his shirt off with a pained hiss and took in the damage. There was so much blood he had to hold in a gag as he looked at it all in the mirror. The wound itself didn’t seem overly large, but it must have been deep to leave this much blood running down his side and leg. He had been hoping he’d be able to just rinse it off and quickly patch it up, but this was obviously going to take more than a washcloth and a few bandages. 

Noct retrieved the first aid kit and set it on the toilet next to the tub while he turned the shower on. Stepping into the water was a harsh sensation he turned his side away from. This wasn’t going to be easy at all. 

Clamping his bottom lip between his teeth to hold in a scream, he began slowly washing the stab. Soap hurt, but he knew that would be nothing compared to the disinfectant he’d need to use later. Once the wound was clean enough, he turned to start washing off the blood that had run down most of his body at this point. The blood stains were stubborn, and he had trouble scrubbing them away without exerting real force that his body couldn’t really handle at the moment. 

Eventually, exhaustion setting in, he slipped off his feet and landed flat on his back in the bottom of the tub. The spray of the shower was hitting him directly in the face and he coughed painfully as some water made its way up his nose. After scrambling to breathe for a minute, he pushed himself to a sitting position and let the water continue to run over him. The pressure of it was especially painful directly around the injury but it hurt less the further away it was, so he put his hand over the wound and turned to let the shower passively wash away any remaining blood. Cringing, he looked down and saw that there was still a very distinct pink tint on much of that side of his body, but he was running out of time if he wanted to properly hide everything. So he shut off the shower and remained in the tub panting for a moment, pulling a towel over himself and half-heartedly patting himself dry.

After he had caught his breath a bit more, he reached out to the first aid kit and pulled it closer. He cursed as he ran his eyes over the contents, realizing he wasn’t really sure what to use. Much of the kit was varying bandaids, but he needed something bigger than that. Putting off choosing a bandage, he disinfected the wound with a muffled sob. Eventually he found gauze and medical tape and settled for piling several layers on top of the slice and taping it down. Noticing that the bulge of it was probably going to show beneath his clothes, he skimmed the kit again and came away with a compression bandage he could wrap around everything to press it down. He wasn’t sure if that was a terrible idea or not, but he was starting to panic and the thought of losing his hard-fought independence hurt nearly as much as the stab in his abdomen. 

He remained in the tub, huffing for breath. The dressing was already feeling a bit wet, but he didn’t have time to consider it. He hauled himself out of the bathtub and went to get dressed. The skin on his legs was still a bit stained, so he settled for jeans to leave no skin exposed, and a shirt and hoodie. The hoodie was dual purpose, as he was hoping the layer would help hide the bulk of the bandage and because he was starting to feel really cold. The significance of that didn’t register with him, his mind still going a million miles an hour of things he needed to take care of before his friends arrived.

More than anything else, he really wanted to lay down in bed. Sleep sounded lovely. Honestly, it always did for him, and he was a bit surprised with the new level of exhaustion he had reached. But there was no time to rest; he still needed to hide the rest of the evidence. 

He scooped up his bloody clothes and towel and scrambled for a minute what to actually do with them. Ignis did much of his laundry still and he’d be sure to notice clothes soaked with blood. Desperately, he shoved them into a back corner of his closet. Maybe he’d find a way to sneak them into the garbage in secret later. 

Next, he needed to check the bathroom. There was still a bit of pink leftover in the tub, so he turned the water back on in hopes of washing away any remaining proof. Then he remembered the few drops of blood on the floor near his door. Thankfully, his entry was tile and not carpet or something equally hard to clean. He had to think about where he saw Ignis put his cleaning supplies. It took some searching, but he found them. 

He was just finishing wiping up the last spots of blood when there was a knock on his door. He froze in panic and called out, “Just a sec!” As fast as he could, he put the cleaning stuff out of view in his kitchen and remembered the first aid kit still sitting out in his bathroom. “Hang on!” he called again, rushing to throw the kit back under his sink and ran back to open the door. 

Prompto was waiting on the other side. His smile faltered for half a second when he took in Noct’s appearance. He was kind of sweaty and looked like he was in pain, and seemed to be holding his arm as a strange angle away from his body. Prompto couldn’t help but be a little on edge by it all, but he didn’t want to nag, so he made the effort to smile at his best friend again. 

“Hey, buddy!” Prompto chirped, hoping his concern was at least slightly less obvious to Noct than it was to him. Noct didn’t seem to notice, so he continued, “Uh, can I come in?”

It was then that Noct realized he was still standing in a way that blocked the doorway, and he stepped aside to let Prompto in. Flustered, he took a last look around to see if he’d missed anything, but there was nothing he could think of. 

Keeping up conversation was hard, so he let Prompto ramble about random things and did his best to listen, but his best wasn’t very good right then. 

Prompto paused, looking at Noct in concern, but Noct didn’t even notice. In fact, he seemed to be falling asleep. Nodding off right where he was sitting on the couch. Prom waved a hand in front of him but Noct’s eyes had slipped closed. 

Something was definitely off. Noct was acting really weird. It wasn’t unusual for him to be able to fall asleep pretty much anywhere, but it was Saturday and he really doubted Noct had been awake before noon. It was only barely dark outside, surely even Noct couldn’t be that tired after only a few hours? 

It was then Prompto noticed that the shower was running. He looked at the bathroom questioningly, then back to Noct. Noct was still completely out of it, so he stood up quietly to investigate. The door to the bathroom was mostly open, so he pushed it open and cautiously looked inside. The shower curtain wasn’t even closed, so there was water going everywhere. He reached in to turn it off and something caught his eye. Had Noct’s tub always been that color? Weird. 

There was a knock on the door and a soft sound a moment later as Ignis and Gladio let themselves in. Prompto exited the bathroom just in time to watch Noct jerk awake violently with a strangled gasp and a cough. He had one hand wrapped tightly around his torso and the other reaching out and grasping the arm of his couch to the point his knuckles were turning white. 

Prom stood frozen in place with worry. Ignis and Gladio had not yet noticed, Ignis with his arms full of groceries and both engaged in some light banter as they entered the apartment. Just after Ignis set the bags down in the kitchen, Prompto pointed at Noct and croaked out, “Guys.” 

Noctis was just trying to stand when he ended up falling to his knees and smacking his face into his coffee table. He let out a soft grunt as all three of them rushed over. 

It was clear Noct was hurt more than just the head injury he’d just sustained, so Gladio took a quick look at Noct and then walked away swiftly to do a sweep of the apartment for danger. Prompto stood back as Ignis kneeled beside Noct and spoke to him softly, asking what was wrong. 

“N-nothing,” Noct said through clenched teeth as he wrapped his arms around himself tighter. 

“Noct,” Ignis said softly but sternly. “Tell me what’s the matter.”

“I’m fine,” he slurred in response. 

With a sharp sigh, Ignis moved a finger under Noct’s chin to angle his face toward him. His eyes were desperately squeezed shut and his face was remarkably pale. “Noctis,” Ignis tried again, harshly using his full name for emphasis. “Where are you hurt?”

“Nooo,” he mumbled softly in return. 

“‘No’, what?” Prompto asked. Ignis looked up as if he’d forgotten he was there. “What’s wrong with him?”

“Trust me, I’d like to find out as well,” Ignis told him in a clipped tone. He gently tried pulling Noct’s arms away from his middle, Noct fighting him every step of the way. Now that he could be certain where the problem lied, he pulled harder. Eventually he turned away from Noct, asking, “Prompto, would you give me a hand? I need to get his arms away from his abdomen.”

“B-but what if…I’m afraid I’ll hurt him.”

“He already  _ is  _ hurt,” Ignis responded curtly. “Now help me,” he commanded lowly. 

Hesitantly, Prompto kneeled on Noct’s other side and watched Ignis for instruction. After again asking for Noct’s cooperation and not receiving it, he nodded to Prompto and they each grabbed one of his arms and pulled them away from him by the wrists. He fought them but seemed to be getting weaker.

Noct’s eyes snapped back open and he choked on a gasp as his arms were pulled away. He tried to double over further, but Ignis pushed him up by a shoulder to hold him mostly upright. “‘m sorry,” he mumbled quietly. 

“Why are you sorry?” Prompto asked him fearfully. “Noct?”

“I’m okay. I’m sorry,” Noct whispered as tears began running down his cheeks. 

His body went loose and slumped against them both. Ignis took the opportunity to lift up Noct’s shirt. The compression bandage was odd enough, but he couldn’t imagine that was the main problem. When he pulled it loose and it fell away, he saw a blood soaked square bandage underneath. With the bandage wrapped around him removed, blood was starting to drip freely from the drenched piece of gauze that was already holding more than it could bear. 

“That’s….a lot of blood,” Prompto murmured. 

Ignis shook Noct’s shoulder, “Noct, are you with us? What happened?” 

“‘S’nothing,” he answered softly. 

“It is quite obviously not nothing. What happened?” Ignis snapped. Noct didn’t answer and he tried again desperately, “What is this?” Noct slowly opened his mouth again and Ignis narrowed his eyes and threatened ominously, “I swear to the Astrals, Noct, if you say it’s nothing again you will regret it. Tell me what happened.”

Noct seemed to contemplate that for a moment and slurred sleepily, “Jus’a light st-stabbing.”

There was a moment of silence until Prompto exclaimed in a whisper, “Did he just say what I think he said?”

With wide eyes, Ignis pulled Noct’s face upward again. He pulled open each of his eyelids one at a time, before lightly tapping his cheek, “Noctis? Did you say you were stabbed?”

Noct let out a slight whine at being caught and whispered, “Jus’...a little. Don’ be mad,” before passing out, leaning his head on his advisor’s shoulder. 

“Kid pass out?” Gladio asked softly from behind them. Ignis nodded. Gladio closed his eyes for a minute then informed them, “There’s no attacker here. I don’t think it happened in his apartment.”

“Why do you say that?” Ignis asked slowly. 

“On our way here I overheard something about an attack in an alley near here. They found a guy knocked out in an alley with a lot of blood that didn’t seem to be his. It fits.”

“Six,” Ignis muttered to himself, pinching the bridge of his nose. “We need to get him to a hospital. Can you get him into the car? I’ll call the citadel and inform them we’re on our way with the prince.”

With a quick nod to each other, they both took off on their tasks while Prompto tried to figure out what to do. Gladio didn’t need help carrying Noct and Ignis could handle a phone call. He wasn’t sure how to help and felt a sinking feeling when he realized he may not even be permitted to come along. He decided the odds of Gladio saying yes if he followed were better than if he decided to wait and ask Ignis, so he ran out of the apartment after Gladio while Ignis made the phone call and gathered some of Noct’s things. 

Prompto just caught up to Gladio as he was laying out Noct in the back seat. “We need to keep pressure on the wound. Can you help with that?” Gladio asked him. Prompto was just thrilled to be useful and leapt into the back seat of the car, pressing down on the blood soaked gauze. After a minute, Gladio shooed his hands away, removed the bloody dressing and pressed a clean towel against the wound and motioned for Prompto to resume. Soon Ignis joined them and the car peeled out of the garage toward the citadel with Prompto whispering to Noct the whole way. 

 

\--

 

Hours later, Prompto was sitting in Noct’s hospital room, pondering how so much had happened in the last few hours and yet so little. Doctors had rushed to surround Noct as he was taken away for scans to check for internal damage. Turns out it was minimal, no surgery required. Countless doctors and nurses had been in and out in the time he’d been sitting beside his friend. But Noct hadn’t opened his eyes. 

Everything the doctors had told them was optimistic, yet his soul still felt like it had been kicked in the balls. Even if Noct was fine now, what about next time someone tried to hurt him? And there was no denying there would be a next time, the question was more  _ when _ than  _ if _ , and whether Noct would nearly kill himself being an idiot about it again. His thoughts were running wild. He always knew that Noctis was a survivor, but the idea that this was likely not to be the last time he sat beside his friend in a hospital made it impossible to calm down, no matter what the doctors assured them all. 

Gladio was needlessly standing guard by the door. Everyone knew perfectly well that there was no threat to Noct’s life here, but it was also clear that he felt guilty for this happening in the first place, and no one was willing to be the one to try and talk him down. 

Ignis was sitting on the other side of Noct’s bed, also immovable. His face didn’t show the concern as clearly as Prompto’s, but there was no doubt in anyone’s mind that Ignis was handling it about as well as the others - aka, poorly. He was constantly checking his phone for updates from Cor, who was interrogating the guy from the alley to see if Gladio’s suspicion was correct. Even when he spoke with Cor, he refused to leave the room, opting to stand facing the corner whispering into his phone. At this point they were nearly certain that Gladio had figured it out, but they still needed to know if it was a plotted attack and whether Noct was still in further danger. Best case scenario, some idiot had picked the absolute worst person in the city to mug and it was over. Worst case, he was part of a group that wasn’t intending to back down any time soon. Waiting for the answer to that question was nearly as bad as waiting for Noct to wake up. 

Prompto and Ignis were both shaken from thought when Noct let out a pained hiss and slowly reached for his side. Ignis was closer, so he grasped Noct’s wrist and pulled his hand back to the bed. “Leave it,” he ordered tenderly. Still under the effect of painkillers, he listened. 

“Where am I?” Noct asked, still wincing but not yet opening his eyes. 

“Citadel. Hospital,” Prompto answered. Noct turned his head toward the sound of his voice and cracked his eyes open slightly. “Dude, you scared us.”

“Sorry,” he whispered so quietly they barely heard. He shifted uncomfortably in bed. “Wha’ happened?”

“We were hoping you’d tell us,” Gladio pitched in from where he was leaning against the doorway. 

“Not sure,” Noct admitted sleepily. 

“From what you told us, you were ‘ _ lightly stabbed _ ’,” Ignis added with the most unamused look Prompto had ever seen on him, making him flinch. 

In his confused state, Noct didn’t recognize his own words from earlier and replied in a daze, “‘ _ Lightly stabbed _ ’? That’s stupid.”

“At least we agree on that much,” Ignis muttered with a long sigh. 


	2. Prompto

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey all! I want to say first of all, in case it wasn't obvious, these stories are all absolutely separate. Mostly because I think if more than one person told Ignis they were "just lightly stabbed" he'd have an aneurysm. 
> 
> Also I want to thank everyone who showed their love so far, you guys are great!

_ Prompto _

\---------------

 

It had been a totally normal day. Noct had been sick for a couple days and was out of school, so that made an already boring thing extra mega boring with boring sprinkles on top. The school day had finally, mercifully ended and he was on his way to Noct’s place to drop off some school work and then he’d go home to an empty house. Just the normal routine. And yet here he was now, being held my his throat against the wall of an alley by a mugger. 

“Kid, did you hear me?” the man growled in his face. 

He hadn’t, but he could certainly guess what the man had asked, so he just huffed out, “I have no money. I’m sorry. Please don’t hurt me.”

“Funny. That’s what they all say,” he sneered as he tightened his grip. 

“No, really,” Prompto wheezed. He dropped his backpack from his shoulder and nudged it forward with his foot. 

The mugger made a point of showing him his knife and gave him a threatening glare that was clearly meant to convey,  _ ‘Move, I dare you.’ _ Kneeling to dig through Prompto’s bag, he stood up not long after, looking extremely annoyed. “What teenager in a fancy school uniform like that goes around with six dollars and no cards in his wallet?”

With a blush he mumbled, “Uh, I’m a bit of a mooch, honestly.”

Growling angrily, the would-be thief moved the knife to point against Prompto’s throat. He tried to take shallow breaths to avoid being cut, but the very tip of the knife just barely dug into his skin anyway. He whimpered a little, trying to think fast. 

He honestly had nothing to offer him. His wallet was empty; he was waiting on more money from his parents and really had been mooching off Noct quite a bit recently. Not that he’d ever admit he needed help, he’d just steal some of Noct’s food and call it sharing, because that’s what friends do right? But he’d even left his camera home today….wait. Maybe that could distract this guy enough?

“L-look, all I have is my camera. It…it’s in my bag at the bottom, take it,” he lied. Even he had to admit he didn’t sound especially convincing, but he hoped the mugger would just take the shaking in his voice to be terror. To be fair, a lot of it was. It wasn’t that great a plan, but it was all he had. The guy pulled the knife away with a dirty look and kneeled again to look for the camera he was promised. 

Prompto knew there wasn’t much in his bag so he didn’t have a big window to make his escape. As his mind struggled with whether to try kicking the guy over or making a run for it, the guy was already close to the bottom of his bag. He wasn’t sure whether he should try inching away or just flat out running for his life and the decisions left him paralyzed. 

At the absolute last second, his mind decided to kick the guy on the shoulder to knock him down and then make a run for it. Just as he was preparing to do so, he looked up angrily, so instead of a shove in the shoulder, Prompto missed and ended up kicking the mugger directly in the face. His eyes widened at the furious growl the man let out, but he didn’t have time to panic, so he ran. 

He’d knocked the thief onto his ass but not very far away, so the man reached out and grabbed Prompto’s ankle as he tried to get away, slamming him roughly to the ground and climbing onto his back to pin him down. 

“Now you’ve gone and pissed me off, boy,” he snarled into Prompto’s ear. Prompto gulped. This was it, wasn’t it? His parents flashed through his mind briefly, wondering if they’d actually come home to identify his body. Doubtful. Then he thought of Noct and he felt bad. He almost wanted to smile at some of the memories they’d built together over the last year since he finally got the guts to approach Noct again, but instead grimaced at the thought of Prompto disappearing from his life and leaving him all alone again. In the back of his mind he realized maybe he should be more worried about himself at this moment, but it just wasn’t in his nature to think of himself even when he really,  _ really  _ should. 

Then all his thoughts were fractured, his world shattering as he felt the knife drive into the middle of his back, just to the right of his spine. He was vaguely aware that the knife was being removed, but didn’t get the chance to register it before it was plunged in again, this time into his right side, twisting slightly. 

It felt like an eternity later that the knife was removed from his side. Prompto was holding his breath for the next stab, but it never came. Instead his attacker stood, kicked him hard in the ribs, spat on his back and stalked away. 

Time passed strangely. He wasn’t sure if he’d passed out at some point, but he was sure he’d been laying on the dirty ground for more than long enough. Standing up was probably the most difficult thing he’d ever done in his life. Absolutely agonizing. But his brain wouldn’t shut up that he needed to go see Noct, even though he couldn’t remember why anymore. 

Slowly, he made a pathetic effort to brush dirt off his clothes and started shuffling towards Noct’s apartment. 

 

\--

 

Ignis had never been a fan of Prompto. He was loud, distracted Noctis from more important things, and seemed irresponsible at best. But he couldn’t deny how much their friendship had brightened Noct’s outlook on life. So for the most part, he tolerated his presence. He still feared there was something he was hiding, something that would only end up hurting Noct. But nothing had come to light yet. He felt like he was constantly waiting for the other shoe to drop and he hated the feeling but he knew there was nothing he could do beside wait for the boy to either prove himself a worthy friend or disgrace himself and fall out of Noct’s life.

So when Prompto showed up over an hour after he said he’d arrive to deliver Noct’s schoolwork, Ignis was less than impressed. As his eyes traveled over his disheveled uniform, he was surprised; usually the ways Prompto failed concerning his appearance were more subtle. 

When he finally caught sight of Prompto’s face, his eyes widened. Prompto’s face was scraped and raw, with some small bits of gravel still embedded in his cheek. His expression was difficult to read, but alarming nonetheless. 

Prompto’s eyes were darting around, looking frightened. Something certainly had him on edge, looking over his shoulder a few times, seemingly unaware that Ignis had answered the door and was observing him closely. 

Eventually, Ignis cleared his throat, and Prompto’s head snapped back towards him. “Sorry,” he mumbled. It was quiet and garbled, barely understandable. “I’m here...I’m here to, uh, to...wha?” 

Ignis watched the younger boy warily. He was incoherent, was he under the influence of something? After waiting for most of a minute for the boy to pull himself together, he gently prompted, “Do you have Noct’s homework?”

“Yes!” he exclaimed, the loudest he’d managed to speak since arriving. He reached one hand to his opposite shoulder, patting around, seeming to look for his backpack. But it wasn’t there. Confused, he turned his head to look over his shoulder and his whole body drooped when he realized he didn’t have it with him. “Um. Was jus’ here.”

Ignis sighed and closed his eyes in frustration. It was either that or roll them pointedly for the boy to see, which seemed just a smidge too openly rude. He had a feeling he was going to regret asking, “Prompto, did you  _ lose _ your bag?”

Prompto’s eyes widened at the question, similar to a young child’s when they know they’ve been caught. “Guess so,” he mumbled out, shifting his gaze to the floor and chewing on his lip.

“Did you leave it on the bus?”

“No,” he answered quickly, as if relieved that  _ that _ was the question he was asked. As if there was another question he  _ really didn’t want to be asked.  _

“Where is your bag?” When he only hummed in response, Ignis pressed again, “Prompto, are you quite alright? Is something the matter?”

“Oh, uh, I’m totally fine,” he answered shakily after a pause that was a bit too long to be convincing.

“If this is what ‘totally fine’ looks like for you, I’m loath to see you on a bad day,” Ignis muttered. Prompto didn’t seem capable of following a sentence that long and just looked up at him with wide eyes, utterly confused. He decided it was time to bring out the big guns in hopes of discovering what on Eos was happening.  _ “Prompto.  _ Did you partake of any drugs? Are you high right now?”

“What?! No, no, nonononono,” Prompto tripped over himself to answer. “No, never!”

“Then what is the matter with you?” he asked, his voice raised more than he intended. 

Prompto flinched at the sharpness in his voice. He hung his head and tried to disappear. Unfortunately, he didn’t know how to vanish on the spot or die on command, so he finally admitted quietly, “Mugged. Stabbed.”

_ “I beg your pardon?!”  _ Ignis exclaimed in alarm. 

The volume of his voice drew Noct out of his room, rubbing at his eyes and yawning. “Is something happening, Specs?”

Ignis couldn’t believe this sentence was about to come out of his mouth. “Prompto just informed me that he was stabbed.”

_ “What?!” _ Noct exclaimed, suddenly fully awake. 

Prompto could feel the tension building in the room and didn’t want anyone to fuss over him. He would be fine. Just had to get home and sleep it off. Totally fine. Dandy. He tried to backtrack, “J-just lightly stabbed. Not a big deal.”

“Not a -” Noct began, but his jaw just dropped in shock. “Prom! What the hell?”

It was then that Ignis realized Prompto was beginning to lean heavily on the doorframe. “Prompto, I believe it’s time to visit a doctor. Would you like me to drive you to the hospital?”

_ No _ , he did not want that. Worse, he couldn’t  _ afford _ that even if he wanted to. Money was tight enough as things were, he couldn’t afford to pay to see a doctor over a couple teeny-weeny, inconsequential stab wounds. Not an option. “I’d...rather not,” he finally admitted in a small voice. 

Noctis was still staring in baffled silence, so Ignis sighed deeply and replied, “I’m aware I worded that like an offer but I actually did not intend to make it sound optional.” 

“Oh. But -” Prompto began. He paused for two reasons. One, he couldn’t think well enough to come up with an argument. Two, he was starting to black out. He slumped all his weight onto the doorway before falling forward, where he would have landed on his face if Ignis hadn’t caught him. 

Ignis laid him on the floor as gently as he could manage and started looking for Prompto’s injury. He found nothing obvious on his front, so he moved to take the jacket of his uniform off and noticed a large red spot blooming on his side. Swearing under his breath, he gave Noct a pointed look to come help and they finished pulling off the jacket together. Lifting him gently, he checked his back and discovered another blotch of red. 

“Noctis,” he said quietly, “do you know of a reason he would not wish to be taken to a hospital? Is he or would he be in legal trouble of any kind?”

“Wha -  _ no, _ of course not!” he answered indignantly. He knew Ignis wasn’t especially fond of Prompto, but that accusation was insane and he was offended on his unconscious friend’s behalf. 

“Afraid of hospitals?”

“Isn’t everyone?”

“Is it money, then?” he pressed again softly. 

“I...I don’t know. I guess it could be? So what? What do we do?”

Ignis’ mouth twitched as he considered. Getting him medical attention felt like the right thing to do, but he was completely perplexed as to what would cause a person who very clearly needed help to turn it down so insistently. “What do you know of his parents? Should I request their input?”

“I basically know nothing. Never met them. He always says they’re busy with work. I...I don’t think we should wait for them. They don’t seem to be around much.”

With a nod, Ignis pulled out his phone and started making the call for emergency services. 

“Hang in there, Prom,” Noct whispered to his friend as he squeezed his hand. 

 

\--

 

Noct and Ignis were permitted to ride in the ambulance with Prompto, though he was whisked away from them as soon as they arrived. The paramedics had reassured Noct that while the stab wounds were not, ‘no big deal’, they could have been much worse. It was probably just a case of blood loss but the bleeding appeared to have stopped. 

Other than that, they had no news. Noct had been arguing with a nurse for nearly fifteen minutes to get an update about his friend and seemed to be finally wearing her down. 

“Please, I need to know what’s going on,” Noctis begged her. 

The nurse groaned, replying, “You’re not his family. I can’t give you any information.”

“We  _ are _ his family!” he exclaimed desperately. 

“Oh, I was unaware the Prince of Lucis got a brother, when did that happen?” she retorted with a glare that was losing its intensity over time. She desperately looked over to Ignis in hopes of him talking some sense into the distraught royal, but he was busy making various phone calls on the other side of the room. “Your Highness, please, I cannot give you information about a minor without his parents. This is my job.”

Noct hadn’t wanted to make anyone at the hospital aware of more of Prompto’s situation than necessary, but he was getting desperate. “Look, his parents aren’t coming.”

She appeared to waver a little and she bit her lip. “I’m sure they will come as soon as they are able. How far away do they work?”

“Last I heard? Altissia,” Noct replied sharply with a pointed look and raised eyebrows. 

The nurse sighed and looked around before mumbling, “3208. Didn’t hear it from me,” and turning back to her paperwork. 

“Thirty-two-oh-eight, Specs!” Noct cried out before dashing off, Ignis heaving a sigh and following closely behind while still on his phone. 

 

\--

 

When Prompto woke up, his first thoughts were pure panic. How did he end up here? He didn’t want to be here, he couldn’t afford to be here, this  _ could not be happening _ . Why would Noct bring him  _ here _ ?

“We called you an ambulance because you’d been stabbed and passed out from blood loss, genius,” Noct grumbled from where he was sitting on the edge of Prompto’s bed near his feet. 

_ Did he say that out loud? Oops.  _

“I can’t be here,” Prompto replied, panic rising in his voice. 

“Too bad, because this is where people go when they’ve been stabbed,” Noct replied flatly. 

Prompto gulped. “I can’t be here, Noct, please, I need to leave.  _ Now _ ,” he tried to sound authoritative but his voice was hoarse and cracked on the last word. 

“This is serious, Prom,” Noct murmured somberly. “You could’ve -,” he choked on the words. “This is exactly where you need to be.”

Was Noct really going to make him spell it out? Prompto really didn’t want to say it out loud. He came to terms with his absentee parents and tenuous financial situation a long time ago, but he didn’t want to admit it to his best - his  _ only _ \- friend in the world that his situation was this dire. “I can’t  _ afford _ to be here, Noct,” he confessed slowly. “Like I won’t be able to eat more than one meal a day for months, if that. I need you to help me get out of here as soon as possible.”

Now it was Noct’s turn to squirm before quietly admitting, “You don’t need to worry about it. It’s taken care of.”

“I-I-I can’t let you do that,” Prompto stuttered. “Noct, no, I can’t let you do that.”

“And I can’t just let you  _ die,” _ Noct snapped back. “You could have died, Prom,” he said more softly. “Don’t leave me. Let me help you.”

There was an awkward pause as their words to each other sunk in. Prompto was struggling with the idea of accepting this sort of help. He had tried so, so hard to not ask Noct for anything but friendship. He could only imagine the number of people who approached Noct with ulterior motives, and he didn’t want to be one of them. Things were going so well, he couldn’t bear to lose Noct’s trust or friendship because he needed monetary help and Noct felt obligated to give it. 

Prompto was right about one thing: lots of people had tried befriending Noctis for selfish reasons. It happened so much that Noct had started to believe he had nothing to offer anyone besides his position. No one had been interested in him as a person, only what friendship with him could get them. Until Prompto. Prompto had asked for nothing but companionship, and some days Noct could still barely believe his luck to have found a friend like him. The thought of losing him over something as simple as a hospital bill was heartbreaking, literally making his chest ache. 

Ignis broke the silence when he entered the room. “Ah, Prompto, you’re awake. Good to see you’re doing better.”

Something in Prompto’s brain shorted out at Ignis’ entrance and before his brain could stop his mouth, he just blurted out, “I swear I don’t do drugs!”

Ignis raised an eyebrow questioningly, but Noct was pretty sure he could see a faint smile on his advisor’s face. “I believe you, Prompto. There are no drugs that I know of that cause stab wounds. Though, if you could tell me what exactly happened?”

Prompto felt his face flush. “Um, a guy pulled me into an alley but I didn’t have anything to give him. I tried to get away and I...might have….accidentally kicked him in the face?” he finished, his tone turning up like a question at the end. “He, uh, wasn’t too happy with me at that point.”

“I would imagine not,” Ignis replied after an awkward silence. 

“Done interrogating my friend?” Noct asked him crossly. Ignis sighed heavily but nodded, so Noct turned back to Prompto excitedly, “Dude did you seriously kick a guy with a knife in the face?” 

“....yeah,” Prompto admitted quietly. 

“I’m honestly not sure whether to smack you in the head or give you a high five.”

“Don’t hit me, I was just stabbed!” Prompto exclaimed indignantly. 

Ignis broke out a truly wicked smile and replied, “I thought it was just a  _ light stabbing _ ? No big deal?”

Prompto shied away from them both and mumbled, “Well I  _ am _ sitting in a hospital so maybe it’s at least sort of a deal.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! All comments and kudos and bookmarks make me feel warm and fuzzy keep 'em coming please ~


	3. Ignis

_ Ignis _

\---------------

 

It probably wasn’t the most intense battle they’d been through since leaving Insomnia. Not the longest, certainly, nor the bloodiest. Still, Ignis was struggling to get to his feet at the end. He hadn’t even realized he was on his knees and he had no clue when he fell or how long he was on the ground. 

Looking around in alarm, he searched for the rest of the party. He could hear Prompto cheering despite not being able to see him, so he assumed he must be alright and kept looking for the others. Gladio was standing, looking at the ground.  _ No, _ not at the ground, at the  _ person _ on the ground by his feet.  _ Noct.  _

Ignis heard a grunt as he tried again to pull himself upright but didn’t realize it was coming from his own chest. He was also vaguely aware that his clothing down his left leg was soaked with something and it almost seemed like he could feel the breeze against his skin near his hip, but he didn’t have time to work through that, he had to get to his prince’s side at once. 

After taking a few more deep breaths, he finally managed to get to his feet. His legs were shaking as he approached Gladio and Noctis, Prompto jogging over a moment later to join them as well. Gladio and Noct appeared to be chatting casually, despite Noct still being on the ground. He found that alarming, surely something must be terribly wrong if he wasn’t bothering to get out of the mud. 

He finally reached them and found himself leaning over and panting. It was hardly the time to be out of breath when Noct needed him and he felt an extra pang of pain at feeling useless, so he made a point of focusing on his surroundings and his friends’ conversation while he caught his breath. 

“You sure you’re alright, kid?” Gladio asked Noctis. He wasn’t even out of breath, Ignis noted jealously. 

Noct sighed. He had one leg stretched out in front of him, the other bent at the knee and was leaning his weight against it. “Yeah. I think it’s just a sprain. I’ll get up in a minute,” he replied. He sounded like he was in pain but Ignis had heard him in much worse shape before. Gods, he’d even heard his screams when he was in too much pain to articulate what was wrong, but he couldn’t help but worry. His title may be  _ advisor to the prince  _ but some days it might as well be  _ surrogate mother  _ or  _ professional worrywart.  _

Ignis was still bent half over, hands on his knees, so he didn’t notice Gladio looking him up and down with a worried look on his face. “Iggy, what about you? You doin’ okay?”

“Fine,” he panted simply. He had bigger things to worry about. “Noct, what’s wrong? Do you need a potion?”

“Eh, I’m fine,” Noct answered exceedingly casually, clearly trying - and failing - to hide the pain tinging his voice. Ignis was too busy struggling with his own pain that he was stubbornly refusing to acknowledge to give him a withering look, but it seemed that Gladio realized that and did it in his place because Noct sighed again and murmured, “It might not be a bad idea but I can get by if we want to save them. I know we only took this hunt to get the cash to buy more.”

The advisor finally pulled himself together enough to stand mostly straight and - still a bit breathlessly - replied, “I’m sure one can be spared for you.”

Noct finally met Ignis’ gaze when he was no longer bent over and his eyes widened in alarm as he looked him up and down. “Ignis, sit down,” Noctis ordered his advisor urgently. He was aiming for a stern tone, but no matter how he tried he’d never be able to match the no-nonsense tone of voice Ignis had mastered by necessity years ago. 

Ignis looked at him curiously. “Highness? Is something wrong?”

Noct gave him a disbelieving look. “Is something wr-,” he sputtered. “Gods, Ignis, will you please sit?” 

“I am perfectly fine, I assure you,” he responded as smoothly as he was able. Which at the time meant it was more like a wheeze.

“Do I need to make it an order?” Noct demanded. He had thought he was getting closer to the tone but Ignis still didn’t seem to notice. 

“Why?” Ignis asked, utterly confused.

He wouldn’t have thought Noct’s eyes could open any wider but they seemed to at his innocent question. “You’re hurt. _ Sit.” _

“Huh?” Ignis asked. Normally he’d be horrified at his lack of eloquence but for some reason it didn’t faze him at all. Pain was growing in his left side and was quickly becoming too much to ignore. He pressed it back down.  _ Not the time, _ his mind insisted. 

With a grunt, Gladio came up behind Ignis and pushed on his shoulders lightly, forcing him to reluctantly lower himself to the ground. His body found it to be a relief, but he still refused to acknowledge the way he could feel himself weakening. Surely it was nothing he couldn’t overcome. He had far more important things to concern himself with. 

Without thinking, he found himself reaching his hand to touch his hip and was met with a wave of pain that would not be ignored. He choked out a strange, gasping sound before he could swallow it down. His brain was at war, battling between worry for Noctis and growing pain that would no longer be denied.

He hazily remembered hearing Noct say something about a sprain. With the chronic pain he still dealt with since his childhood, he could only imagine the strain that would place on Noct. Seeing him in pain caused Ignis pain himself and he would choose to take that pain off Noct’s shoulders any chance he could. 

Despite the growing struggle to focus and draw breath normally, he brought a potion out from the armiger. Reaching over to break it near Noct’s leg, Noct batted Ignis’ hand away from him. 

“What are you doing?” Noctis asked incredulously. “That’s the last one! You need it more than I do!”

What could that mean? Ignis remained in stubborn denial of his injured state and without a word, leaned forward toward Noct again in another attempt to heal his leg. Noct reacted violently, shoving Ignis away from himself by the shoulders, knocking him down.

“Stop! Specs, your leg!”

_ “My _ leg?” Ignis questioned. He sounded genuinely confused and the others couldn’t tell whether he was truly unaware of the ugly wound on the side of his leg or if it was a show of nonchalance.

Before Ignis could approach Noct with the potion again, Gladio was kneeling next to him, hand on his shoulder holding him in his spot but shifting him to lean slightly to the right, trying to get a better view of his leg. There was a slice in Ignis’ pants about a foot long around his left hip and going down his outer thigh. The injury was nearly that long and it looked immensely painful before even factoring the dirt getting into the wound. Gladio was starting to wonder if his friend was not simply in denial but rather delusional, no longer able to think clearly through the pain or blood loss. 

Ignis was beginning to look dazed, eyes clouded over, utterly confused and Gladio took the chance to gently wrestle the potion from the advisor’s hand and subtly broke it against Ignis’ hip. 

He jumped at the feeling of healing rushing through him. He could feel the skin of his hip moving to close a gap he refused to believe was there. It didn’t fully close the wound, nor did it completely stop the bleeding. At first he was distraught, that potion had been intended for Noct, he had to give it to Noct, but now it was  _ gone. Wasted.  _ On  _ him.  _ This thoughts kept going in a circle of confusion and guilt and he was too muddled to realize just how little sense his thoughts were making. They were quickly shifting into nonsensical gibberish territory but that was hardly worth his consideration.

“Why would you do that?” Ignis asked. It sounded like he was trying to be angry but couldn’t put enough force into the words as they left him. The others shared a bewildered look. He continued, “Noct needed that, why would you -”

“Iggy,” Gladio said insistently, grabbing his head to force Ignis to meet his eyes. “Ignis. You needed it more. Trust me.” He  _ did _ trust Gladio, but he still struggled to accept the decision that had been made on his behalf without an ounce of his input. 

While Gladio tried to talk some sense into the half-conscious advisor, Prompto pulled Noctis to his feet and held onto him to keep him from falling back to the ground. He let out a painful hiss as he tested his ankle. Despite Ignis barely being conscious enough to remember his own name, he heard the sound and leaned away from Gladio, attempting to get a better view of Noct. “Highness?” he slurred. “Do you need assistance?”

Noct’s shoulders slumped as he took in Ignis’ appearance and demeanor. He was clearly so out of it that Noct wasn’t sure how he was even keeping his eyes open. He was flooded with worry for the man and nudged Prompto to help him get closer. 

“I am  _ fine, _ Ignis. We’ve got this. Stop worrying about me for once. Worry about yourself.”

“Whyever would I do that?”

“Because you have a bleeding wound on your side that is way more serious than my sore ankle,” he said bluntly with perhaps a bit too much force. Perhaps it wasn’t the kindest tone to use with someone so disoriented, but he couldn’t help feeling frustrated at Ignis putting himself in danger for no reason. Ignis’ eyebrows drew together in confusion as he looked up at Noct and Noct felt his heart break a little in his chest. “Gladio will help carry you back to the car, right Gladio?”

Ignis’ face shifted from confused to offended as he scoffed, “I am perfectly capable of -”

“No, you are not,” Noctis said through clenched teeth. “You are still bleeding heavily and can barely speak a full sentence.”

“I…I assure you I -”

“Don’t want to hear it, Specs,” Noct said tiredly, letting Prompto help him turn away and begin limping toward the car. 

“You got him, Gladdy?” Prompto called over his shoulder. Gladio nodded and Prompto continued helping Noct hobble away. 

Gladio remained kneeling next to Ignis for another moment. “You’ll thank me for that later,” he said softly. 

“It is but a light stabbing,” Ignis insisted indignantly, his eyes beginning to droop closed. 

Gladio couldn’t help but laugh at his affronted expression as he slurred the words. “Light stabbing, huh? That’s a new one.”

Ignis attempted to glare at the large, amused man, but Gladio didn’t seem to pick up on it since his eyes were already mostly closed anyway. “No need to worry, I’m fine to walk,” he mumbled as his eyes closed the rest of the way. 

“Ignis, stay awake!” Gladio said, all traces of amusement gone. “You hear me? I need to you to stay with me,” he told him urgently, tapping his cheek and then rubbing his knuckles against the advisor’s chest. But he was already gone. “Damnit,” he grumbled, gathering Ignis into his arms. He had carried Noct on several occasions before, but Ignis was taller, and he struggled a bit to gain his balance as he pulled himself to his feet. 

As he arrived at the car, Noct and Prompto were arguing about who would drive them back to their camp. Since Ignis would clearly be in no condition to drive, Noct wanted to take over, while Prompto didn’t think Noct was all that capable at the moment either. 

He listened to them bicker for a minute as he got Ignis situated in the back seat. Eventually, Gladio sighed and asked, “Noct, which ankle did you hurt?”

There was a long pause before he answered, “Right.”

“Yeah, thought so,” Gladio said with a snort. “You’re not driving with a sprained ankle. Sit in the back so you have something to prop it up on. And hold something against Ignis’ hip. Let’s get goin’.” Prompto’s eyes sparkled as he opened his mouth to ask a question. Gladio didn’t even let him say a single word before looking at him tiredly and saying, “Not a chance,” and climbing into the driver’s seat himself. Prompto’s shoulders slumped in disappointment as he climbed into his usual seat, sulking quietly. 

To everyone’s relief, it wasn’t long before Ignis woke up in the back of the car. At first his muttering was quiet enough that it was covered by the sound of the Regalia’s engine, but his volume grew and minutes passed and scenery flew by. Honestly, it sounded more like talking in his sleep than actual consciousness, but they would take what they could get. 

The first words from him they were able to fully understand was a mumbled, “Who’s driving?”

“Gladio,” Noctis answered him softly. 

“Good.”

Slightly offended, he scoffed and asked, “Why? I can drive.”

“Indeed, you drive the car as if you stole it.”

“Do not,” Noct muttered to no one in particular, knowing he was unlikely to win an argument with Ignis even when he was half asleep and bleeding out. 

“So what happened? I didn’t see you go down.” Noct prompted Ignis, wanted to keep him awake if possible. It was safest that way. 

When Ignis didn’t answer for a minute, Gladio answered him. “I don’t know how it happened, but he said it was  _ but a light stabbing,”  _ he said, imitating Ignis’ accent at the end when apparently quoting his words from earlier. 

Prompto snorted and finally spoke up, “‘Light stabbing’? Seriously? Ignis, buddy, that might be the dumbest thing you’ve ever said.”

“I never say anything dumb,” Ignis muttered resentfully in his half awake state. His eyes were still closed, but all the others were relieved that he was at least partially following conversation. 

Noctis responded, “As if you’d be okay if I said I was ‘just lightly stabbed’.” 

Ignis’ face visibly twitched in a strange mixture of annoyance and defeat. “Touche,” he conceded. In an effort to shift the conversation away from himself, he asked, “How is your ankle?”

“It’s fine, Specs.”

“Is it swollen?”

Noct scowled. Even barely conscious Ignis could see through him with ease. “A little,” he admitted quietly. 

“May I make a suggestion?” Ignis said, sounding more awake than he had the entire ride. Without waiting for an answer, he said, “Ice,” simply, as if worn out by his previous effort at coherency. 

“He has a point,” Gladio told Noct. “At the next stop we’ll get some ice for you and another potion for him.” In the rearview mirror he saw Ignis about to say something and he told his friend firmly, “He’ll be fine with just ice, he doesn’t need a potion; you  _ do.  _ Hang in there.”

When Ignis woke next, it was night, which was extremely disorienting. While one hand rubbed at his eyes, his other found its way to his hip, skin still slightly tender despite the wound being gone. Not even a scar. He heaved a sigh and relaxed in the tent as he listened to his friends talking casually outside. It was hard to make out the actual words, but it was calming to hear their voices nearby, clearly in good health and unperturbed by the day’s events.

The day came back to him in bits and pieces. How the injury occurred was still unclear, but he was almost alright with not remembering it. It must have been bad for his mind to obscure the memory and he tried to accept that, though it was somewhat of a struggle.

Much of his memory of the day was unclear, but parts of it were clearer than others. He winced as he remembered Noct asking how Ignis would feel if Noct claimed to be ‘lightly stabbed’. Noct was right, it would be disturbing, to say the least. It had seemed to make so much sense at the time, which just emphasized how out of his mind he had been. That knowledge made his stomach churn with anxiety. How could he perform his role as advisor or protect Noctis in such a state? His chest tightened as he realized what a burden he had made of himself today. 

His thoughts continued to run in the same wild and self-deprecating manner until he was distracted by Gladio pulling the entry to the tent open and joining him. The shadows cast by firelight were distracting, and he worried his mind still wasn’t at one hundred percent. 

“You’re awake,” Gladio remarked. “How’s your light stabbing?” he asked jokingly with a chuckle. 

Ignis winced. Apparently he wouldn’t be hearing the end of  _ that _ any time soon. 

“Fine, thank you,” he responded curtly. 

Gladio hummed. “Yeah, that’s exactly what you said earlier, so I’m gonna take a look anyway,” he answered evenly, reaching to pull Ignis’ sleeping bag down to look at his hip. Ignis pushed his hands away but after a sharp look he huffed and allowed Gladio a look. “Looking pretty damn good,” Gladio admitted finally. “Tired?” he asked when Ignis stifled a yawn. 

“I suppose so,” Ignis said with a blush he hoped Gladio wouldn’t be able to see in the low light of the tent. 

“Blood loss does that. Don’t worry about it.” Ignis raised an eyebrow at the sentiment. “Okay, okay,” he relented, “don’t worry about it more than you worry the rest of the time.”

They sat in silence for a few minutes, both secretly drawing relief from the other’s presence. The quiet moment was fractured when Noct and Prompto both poked their heads into the tent. 

“Doin’ better, Iggy?” Prompto asked. 

“Indeed, thank you,” he responded politely. 

“You sure?” Noct asked warily. 

“Quite.”

Gladio stood and placed his hands on the younger twos’ faces to gently push them from the tent, giving Ignis a nod and instructions to sleep before stepping out too. 

Left alone, his thoughts continued to circle restlessly. He felt irritation rushing through him, but he wasn’t sure at who or what. Probably at least partially himself, but also at the situation as a whole. He wasn’t used to being taken care of and he wasn’t sure how he felt about it. He supposed a part of him felt warm at the care being shown by his friends, but he also felt guilt that he put any of them in a situation where he needed to be cared for at all. 

With a sigh, he decided to focus on the warmth in his chest and drifted back to sleep. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed :) 
> 
> Thanks for all the love so far, it's really helped me work much faster. Til next time o7


	4. Gladio

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi all! Thanks again for all the comments and kudos and stuff, it means a ton. Here we are, last chapter. This is the first time I've ever concluded a fic with multiple chapters and thanks a bunch to you guys for all the love helping me keep going and going much faster than I usually do. 
> 
> That said, this chapter turned out darker than I intended. A lot of angst. I'm hoping it's still on character. I had trouble picking between two different ideas and ended up going this way because it's easier for me personally to write angst than asshole *shrug* I might end up doing another piece based on the other idea but I don't know. It's also the longest chapter of the four! As a bonus, Gladio isn't the only one hurt but it's written from his POV and meant to focus on him.

_ Gladio _

\---------------

 

Gladio pried his eyes open and only felt confusion. Nothing really made sense. A far off part of his brain recalled how Iris used to sleepwalk when she was younger. She had told him about how disorienting and scary it was to wake up somewhere other than where she fell asleep. It wasn’t something he’d ever experienced, but of course he’d comforted her all the same. But now he could understand what she was talking about, because there was no way he had actually gone to sleep sitting against a wall in this empty warehouse with his arms secured behind him. 

It was a fight to remember even bits and pieces of what led up to this moment, and he was beginning to think he could blame a drug swimming through his system for that. Considering the way his vision still occasionally blurred like he was underwater and using his brain felt like wading against a raging current, it seemed like a safe bet. He kept fighting for access to the memories that would make this all less confusing, but it just left him drained. Remembering would have to wait. 

Looking around, he battled for awareness. Any details of his surroundings could be useful; he had to regain his senses even if it was in tiny puzzle pieces at a time. Judging by the low light and cool temperature it was probably around dawn. His shoulders and chest ached from the way his arms were tightly secured behind his back at the wrists. He tried twisting his wrists and found it difficult but not overly painful, so it was likely with heavy tape rather than rope. Hopefully once he regained some strength he could do something about that. Suddenly, he became aware of the sharp pain in his torso, starting just beneath his ribs and spanning across his entire stomach. It didn’t feel like a punch and he realized with a sinking feeling that the front of his shirt was soaked, almost certainly with blood that he could feel still sluggishly flowing if he focused.

His heart just about stopped when he realized he wasn’t alone. Noctis was lying on his side, unconscious, twenty feet away. His wrists were bound in a similar way to Gladio’s restraints. He had most of his face pushed into the floor, but the small portion Gladio could see was bloodied and he was pretty sure the darkness around his eye was more than just a shadow. An angry growl escaped him at the sight of his beaten prince. Someone would pay dearly for this. 

Gladio looked around again, making sure there were no other people around he missed. The shadows seemed to shift and teem and it set him on edge, but after a minute of observing he put it down to his eyes still playing tricks on him. Pulling himself to his knees was difficult but not impossible due to his legs not being bound.  _ For as vicious as these bastards had been,  _ he thought,  _ they weren’t very smart.  _ He tried flexing his arms to break the restraints around his wrists. While he did manage to budge them, he was unable to break free entirely. Still feeling lightheaded, he wasn’t able to push himself to his feet without the use of his arms, so he moved forward on his knees to Noct’s side. 

“Noct,” he murmured. “Noctis,” he tried a bit louder. He didn’t even stir and Gladio felt like he’d been freshly stabbed in the gut all over again. He didn’t want to hurt him but it felt vital to wake him up, so he lightly nudged Noct in the shoulder with his knee. “C’mon, Noct, you gotta wake up.”

Noct’s breathing changed as if he was waking but didn’t open his eyes. Gladio grunted in frustration and channeled his anger into breaking the tape around his wrists. It worked this time and he gratefully pulled his arms forward. They ached terribly and he found himself wondering just how long he’d been unconscious, but he pushed that out of his mind. It was hardly the most important thing right now. Not even in the top ten. 

With his hands now freed, he placed one hand on Noct’s shoulder and shook him again. His other hand found its way to Noct’s face, where he gently pulled his face away from the filthy, cold concrete floor. This time his eyes pulled open a crack before falling shut again. Gladio whispered, “No, no, Noct, c’mon, lemme see those blues, man, c’mon.” 

When all he got for an answer was a soft moan that may or may not have been an attempted apology, he gently pulled Noct off the floor and into his lap. He cradled his head against his chest and wrapped his other arm around his body, holding Noct’s shivering form against his own. 

He couldn’t be sure how long he remained there in that position. He vaguely registered that it seemed like a long time for his captors to leave them unattended, but that felt like too much of a miracle to begin questioning. Maybe he should have been focusing on getting them both the hell out of there but, as much as he would eternally deny it, he wasn’t sure he had the strength to fight anyone, much less while carrying Noct and shielding him from danger. 

After an impossible to determine amount of time, he realized he could hear noise from outside. At first it was soft, barely enough to draw his attention from Noctis. But the commotion grew louder, and he found himself almost afraid to hope this nightmare was almost over. He could hear voices coming closer and they struck something familiar in the back of his mind but he couldn’t help but worry it was another trick of his clouded thoughts. 

It turned out his fear was unnecessary. Gladio sighed in relief as members of the crownsguard entered into the room in a steady stream, checking for surprises in all the corners that Gladio had been unable to search himself. Once they all agreed that the room was safe, they gathered around Gladio and Noct. He recognized many of the faces around him but his mind refused to cooperate with him enough to provide him with their names. The only one he knew without a doubt in his mind was the Marshal, Cor Leonis, now kneeling in front of him, resting a hand on Noct’s head, absentmindedly running his fingers through his dark hair and asking Gladio questions he couldn’t quite decipher. 

His vision was starting to fuzz over but he was snapped back to reality when Cor and another guard member he couldn’t put a name to tried to take Noctis from his arms. Before he could stop himself, he let out a feral growl and held Noct tighter in his arms, wordlessly making it clear he had no intention of letting anyone else take him. 

“Okay, okay,” Cor murmured in appeasement. “But can you stand?”

Gladio knew he had him there. He couldn’t stand earlier but he tried again and through sheer stubborn force of will, he stumbled to his feet without letting go of Noct. Cor nodded at him once, pointing the way out of the building and leading the way to the ambulances waiting outside for them. 

There was a stretcher waiting for each of them, but Gladio steadfastly refused the one reserved for him. He laid Noctis on one of them as gently as he could and turned to climb into the back with him, having no intention to leave his side. 

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught Cor looking him up and down carefully. He forced himself to push his shoulders back and stand straight, pulling his jacket over his bloody shirt. With his arms crossed tightly across his chest to hold the jacket closed, he looked Cor in the eye with raised eyebrows. The challenge he issued was clear, wordlessly daring Cor to just  _ try _ removing him from Noct’s side and telling him in no uncertain terms that he would not be swayed. Cor narrowed his eyes at him sharply, silently expressing right back that he very much doubted Gladio’s assessment of his own condition but wouldn’t fight him on it.  _ For now.  _

Gladio climbed into the back of the ambulance despite the paramedic’s protests. He was about to start a full blown fight with the young woman when Cor ordered her to allow it as long as Gladio wouldn’t interfere, giving Gladio a stern look that he better not even think about making her job difficult. So much was being said between them without words and Gladio found himself grateful, because if he was forced to talk his woozy condition would likely become much more obvious. 

Soon the ambulance was under way, and he watched the paramedic carefully as she checked Noct over. He was relieved to see she seemed to know what she was doing and watched intently as she performed the initial examination. 

She shone a light in Noct’s eyes, making a small sound of displeasure as she did. Before Gladio could ask, she noticed him leaning forward in his seat and told him, “His pupils are behaving strangely. They react to light for the most part but they’re very different sizes, which could indicate that he has a concussion in addition to the drugs in his system.”

“Drugs?” 

“Yeah, we can’t know without a blood test, which we’ll get at the hospital, but from his state I think he has enough in his system to bring down an behemoth.” Gladio’s eyes widened in alarm. “I have a theory, but again, we can’t know without testing.” She paused and Gladio nodded to urge her on. “Since you’re pretty awake and he’s really not, I think they may have messed up the dosing. Either they gave you both the same high dose and yours passed due to your size, or they mixed them up and he accidentally got the higher dose meant for you.”

The realization was like a stab in the heart. He didn’t want to believe either option but it made a lot of sense. It was an insightful point and he was again glad Noct was in good hands. Gladio was still much less coherent than he was letting on, but it would explain why Noct was basically an unresponsive ragdoll so far, not reacting at all even while she checked him over. 

While Gladio was dwelling on that, the paramedic began cleaning the blood off Noct’s face and placing small bandages to hold the edges of some of the larger cuts together. With the blood cleaned away his face was a less gruesome sight but it made the gashes much more obvious when they were highlighted against his dreadfully pale skin. Gladio suspected Noct was going to end up with a decent number of stitches across his forehead and jaw. 

The paramedic didn’t even look up from Noctis as she continued examining him when she asked Gladio, “And what about you?”

“What about me?” he huffed in response, hoping the rattling of the ambulance was enough to mask the slight slur in his words. 

She finally looked up to look him in the eyes, giving him a dubious look and pointing at his lower torso. “I know you’re in worse shape than you’re letting on. You’re hugging yourself pretty tight, got something going on in your abdomen, I’m guessing?” The muscles of Gladio’s face twitched as he clenched his jaw in annoyance at how observant she was. She chuckled darkly at his expression, turning her attention back to Noctis. “I thought so. His Highness is covered in blood but doesn’t have a scratch below his chest. You know you’re not helping him by neglecting it. He’s safe. If you want what’s best for him, I urge you to seek treatment for yourself. You can’t shield him if you can’t even stand up and if I’m not mistaken you’re well on your way to that point.”

Gladio opened his mouth to argue that he was fine and wouldn’t be leaving Noct’s side, but just let out a hiss of pain. He closed his eyes tight and tucked his head down to ride out the wave of pain that overtook him. 

He hadn’t even heard her move, but suddenly she was at his side, trying to gently pull his arms away from him. His instinct was to resist. He refused to acknowledge that his wound could be at all serious. Noct had been beaten bloody and was lying unconscious before him, how could he take her attention away from him? He had made it this far through determination alone, surely it would continue to hold him. 

She broke him out of his tangle of denial when she said to him threateningly, “You know I have sedatives back here, right?”

“You wouldn’t,” he ground out through clenched teeth. 

“Yeah. You caught me,” she admitted after a long pause. “But if you don’t get that checked out, you’re going to knock yourself out all on your own.”

“It’s nothing.”

“Uh-huh,” she agreed, deadpan. 

Just as he was about to relent, the ambulance came to a stop and the back doors opened as nurses and doctors swarmed to bring Noctis inside. So instead, he loosened his hold on himself to zip up his jacket to cover the bloody evidence on his shirt and followed. He turned back to thank the paramedic, but she just gave him a stern look until he left. 

He followed Noctis as far as they would allow him. They said they needed to run some tests and despite arguing against it, he found himself shown to the hospital room that was to be Noct’s as soon as the tests were done. 

He paced the length of the small room countless times before sitting down. The problem was that as soon as he sat down, he felt exhaustion clawing its way through him, trying to drag him down. He couldn’t allow his body to make that call, no matter how vehemently it was making its will known, so he dragged himself to his feet once again. 

Pacing had lost its grounding effect on him so he stopped, trying to figure out what to do with himself. Just as his body was getting heavier than he could bear, they brought Noct into the room. Relief flooded Gladio at being reunited with his charge, but at the same time feelings of dread and guilt were gnawing at him. He couldn’t remember how this came to pass in the first place, but he was certain it had involved a mistake on his part, some kind of shortcoming that had led to this catastrophe. There had to have been  _ something _ he could have done differently to prevent this. He noticed they had stitched the gashes on Noct’s face and absently reached to touch the scar on his own face. He hoped they would be able to get someone here to heal them soon so Noct wouldn’t be left with a visible reminder of how badly Gladio had failed him. 

Sitting beside Noct only reminded him of how big of a screw up this whole thing was. The feeling was unbearable. His body was again asserting itself, but he tried to still himself through the trembling that was rocking his thick frame. It wasn’t having the effect he hoped for, the resulting tension only making him feel like he was going to be sick. 

Eventually, it became too painful to sit beside Noct, both physically and emotionally. He stood abruptly and closed the distance between the two of them. Running his hand gently along the top of Noct’s head, he softly reassured him, “I’ll be outside, not far. I’m right here. I won’t let you down again. I swear I’ll keep you safe. I...I’m sorry.”   
There was so much more he felt he should say, but there was little point in pouring his soul out to Noct while he was unconscious. Noct was unable to forgive him in this state, and should he be angry, as was his right, he couldn’t express that now. He couldn’t communicate his disappointment to his shield, couldn’t hold him accountable and berate him the way he felt he surely deserved. It wouldn’t be fair to Noct to unburden himself now, so he had to hold it in. He had to be a man and accept the consequences of whatever choices had led them to this point, whether he remembered them or not. 

So he left Noct’s side to stand guard at the door. He told himself it was for the best. He leaned against the doorframe, fighting to stay awake. After failing Noctis so badly last night, he couldn’t bear the shame of falling asleep on the job. His father would never let him hear the end of it, and he would be right. 

Yet, despite his best efforts, he lapsed into a daze. He was vaguely aware of what was happening around him as his eyes remained mostly open, but he would hardly be able to react quickly enough in an emergency.  _ Sloppy, _ he rebuked himself.  _ You call yourself a shield when you’re practically dead on your feet? Pathetic.  _ Still, he noticed when Ignis and Cor approached the room, and he considered that a miniscule victory, for what little it was worth. 

Ignis made eye contact and Gladio uncharacteristically averted his gaze. He didn’t want to imagine the quiet fury Ignis must be harboring over all this. As much as he dreaded the reprimand of the century that was coming from his father, Cor, and maybe even the king himself, he had a feeling Ignis’ words would cut the deepest; his way with words combined with his indestructible sense of duty to guide Noctis was likely to yield a deadly result. 

Cor stood outside beside Gladio while Ignis quietly joined Noct. He looked Gladio up and down again, assessing him closely and eyes narrowing at whatever he saw. “Have you received medical attention yet?”

“No need, sir,” he replied, desperately trying to hide the exhaustion from the Marshal. 

Cor leveled him with an angry look that he could practically feel boring into him. “I can stand watch. I don’t want to see you again until you’ve been cleared for duty by a doctor.”

“All due respect, I’d rather stay here, sir.” He couldn’t admit defeat now. After everything Noct had been through, the least he could do was stick this out. 

“Not a request.”

While Gladio was trying to come up with an excuse, any reason at all to stay, the world felt like it was tilting violently beneath him. He threw a hand out to grasp the doorframe but he misjudged his position and only succeeded in banging his arm into the door on his way to the ground. His knees hitting the ground sent a jolt through him, leaving him breathless. 

“I knew it,” Cor muttered as he lowered himself to the ground beside Gladio. “I’ll get a doctor. What should I tell them is wrong?”

For a minute he was unable to answer, busy taking deep breaths and trying not to empty his stomach. 

“Gladiolus, tell me what to tell the doctor,” Cor ordered, his tone low and threatening. 

“Noth-” 

“Bullshit,” he responded harshly before Gladio could even finish the word. No longer seeking verbal input, he reached out to push Gladio’s hands aside to get a look at what he was desperately grasping and trying to hide. 

All traces of fight leaving him, he allowed the older man to lift his jacket and shirt out of the way. Cor cursed at what he saw: a deep slice running diagonally across the man’s entire abdomen, bleeding freely still. Now that he looked closer, he could see that his clothes were drenched, only the dark shade and poor light obscuring the blood that had already poured from the wound.

“Why the hell didn’t you say anything? I didn’t know idiocy was a side effect of blood loss,” he muttered to himself.

“It’s nothin’...just lightly stabbed. Not import-” he cut off before he could finish the word, his body giving out under him and collapsing the rest of the way to the floor. He thought he heard Cor calling for help for a second before he lost all grip on consciousness.

 

\--

 

Waking up was a bizarre feeling. Opening his eyes felt impossible, instead the world around him began filtering in in pieces. It felt like he was being held underwater away from his surroundings and for a moment he even panicked that he wouldn’t be able to breathe. A rush of relief washed over him when he found that he could. He realized he could hear more and more with each minute that passed and decided if he couldn’t open his eyes, he should at least listen to his surroundings. 

There were three voices talking, close enough that they must be in the room with him. It was a struggle to place where he knew the voices from, but he was certain that he knew two of them well, the last being a mystery. 

“He lost quite a bit of blood,” he heard the voice he didn’t recognize say. “It doesn’t appear anything vital was hit, which is fortunate. He’s very lucky he was already here. We stitched him up and now we just wait.”

He heard the other two voices hum and sigh in relief. “How long do you expect him to be unconscious?” an accented voice asked. 

“Impossible to say really. Like I said, it was a lot of blood. I’m surprised he was on his feet as long as he was.”

With a single dark chuckle, another familiar voice responded, “If you knew him, you wouldn’t be.”

With a vague reassurance, the unfamiliar voice left the room and the other two voices settled in around him. There seemed to be a long stretch of time where no words were spoken, but in his state he couldn’t be sure of the flow of time. The comfortable silence was broken when one of the voices asked the one with the accent, “How is Noctis?”

At the sound of Noct’s name, he pulled himself to attention. If he was able to shoot upright out of bed, he would have. But he would have to settle for staying in place and fighting to breathe while he waited for what felt like an eternity for the answer. “The drug is still leaving his system,” the one with the accent answered. “Thank the Astrals, His Majesty should be here soon to help the healing along.”

“Would he be willing to help Gladiolus?”

“I have no doubt he will. He asked me to thank him personally for all he did for Noct.”

“Yeah, he’s the reason I’m here,” another voice said from the entry to the room. Gladio nearly did shoot out of bed at the sound of the familiar voice. He struggled to open his eyes to make sure he wasn’t imagining it in some desperate corner of his mind. 

“Your Highness, what are you doing out of your bed?” 

He was really there. Noct was standing in the doorway with his eyes locked on Gladio. 

The voices - which he could now see for himself belonged to Cor and Ignis - jumped up to rush to Noctis, each taking an arm and helping him into a chair deeper in the room. 

Noct tried to yank his arms free but in his weakened state was unable to do anything but reluctantly accept the help they were determined to offer. “I had to see him,” he answered unsteadily.

“Apologies, Noct, I’m sorry I was away when you awoke. The doctor had assured me it would still be a time before you regained consciousness,” Ignis told him. Noctis shook his head and waved a hand at him, telling him to not worry. 

“Noct? You’re okay?” Gladio finally found his voice to ask in a rasp. 

All eyes snapped to Gladio, who was trying and failing to sit up in bed. Noct tried to jump up to his side, but Ignis held him down by the shoulder while Cor went to Gladio and pushed him back into his pillow too. “Rest, both of you,” Cor ordered with a stern look flicking back and forth between the two of them. 

“I’m okay, are you okay?” Noct asked, sounding a bit desperate. 

“I think so, kid,” Gladio told him with a sad attempt at a reassuring smile. 

“I’m sorry,” Noct said after a long pause.

“You’re sorry? I’m sorry.”

“Why are _ you _ sorry? Do you even remember what happened?”

He sighed before quietly responding, “Not really, no,” sounding completely ashamed. 

“Thank the gods,” Noct muttered. “It wasn’t your fault. It was mine.”

“I kinda doubt that. I shoulda done more.”

“Gladio, this is me we’re talking about. You really think I couldn’t do something monumentally stupid?” he asked guiltily. 

“I...I guess you’ve done stupid shit before.”

“Yeah. I have. I’m sorry.” 

Noct’s eyes were starting to slip closed, so Ignis cut in, “Alright, enough of this for now. You both need your rest. Noctis, you can return soon.” Noct looked like he wanted to fight his advisor on this one, but the fight left him in record time and he let Ignis escort him from the room. As he walked out, he turned back to Gladio and mouthed the word  _ sorry _ again. 

Exhaustion was beginning to weigh Gladio down again and he closed his eyes. The sound of a throat being cleared shook him back to life. He had forgotten Cor was still there. He looked up at the man to see he was giving him a strange look that was somewhere between tired exasperation and masked fondness. “While your dedication is to be commended, perhaps you should tell someone the next time you’re  _ lightly stabbed,  _ yes?”

Gladio adopted a tired version of his usual cocky grin. “It all worked out, didn’t it?”

Cor gave him an exhausted look and sighed as he turned to leave. “Get some rest, crownsguard.”

“Yes, sir,” Gladio muttered sleepily as he drifted off. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed and I'll see y'all around :)


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